In the field of postoperative spinal therapy, it is well known that serious loss of motion, painful contractures and stiffness may occur, particularly in the lumbar spine. It is also well known that rehabilitation is difficult in that the normal collagen formation cannot occur and disorganized scar results which further impedes the healing process and recovery.
Other devices have been produced to exercise the human body for rehabilitative or other purposes. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,431 issued to S. H. Jensen on Mar. 28, 1939; U.S. Pat. No. 2,598,204 issued to R. E. Allen on May 27, 1952; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,666 issued to J. W. Sellnor on Apr. 25, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,132 issued to C. A. Ragon, et al. on Jun. 17, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,480 issued to R. F. Chisholm on Nov. 30, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,017 issued to H. Stefani, Jr. on Jul. 4, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,730 issued to R. Chenera on Jul. 30, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,913 issued to A. E. Parker on May 9, 1989; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,072 issued to L. M. Goodman on May 30, 1989. Each of these devices are designed to exercise the human body in some fashion for strengthening, stretching, relaxing, reducing weight, or some other related function. None of these, however, is designed specifically for exercising a patient's spine as a rehabilitation technique following surgery, or for patients suffering from chronic deconditioned spines. For example, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,623,480 ('480), 3,674,017 ('017), and 4,827,913 ('913) patents are most useful in exercising the abdomen region. However, these designs employ a single pivoting support surface, the surface being pivoted in a range from substantially the horizontal plane upward to substantially the vertical plane. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,072 ('072) patent discloses an invention which is specifically designed to exercise the legs in like manner by elevating the legs simultaneously or individually above or below the horizontal plane, with no other body parts being exercised. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,132 ('132) patent is designed to exercise the feet, legs, hips, back, arms, shoulders and neck of a patient suffering from polio or other form of paralysis or muscular disorder.
The desired exercise for postoperative spinal therapy begins with the patient lying in a substantially horizontal plane, the torso and head then being lowered to an angle below the horizontal as the legs are also lowered at the same rate and amplitude, the buttocks remaining stationary throughout. The torso and legs are then raised to the starting position and the process is repeated a desired number of times or for a desired duration. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,431 ('431), U.S. Pat. No. 2,598,204 ('204), U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,666 ('666), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,730 ('730) patents disclose devices which may be used to acquire this type of motion, however, they are not designed specifically for the postoperative treatment of spinal patients and offer a much larger range of motion than is desired, along with other features unnecessary or inappropriate for such treatment. For example, the '666 patent is designed to massage a user's back or other body part, depending on how the device is employed, and requires the motion of the user to manipulate the device as opposed to an external power source. This, of course, is undesirable due to the weakened condition of the spinal patient. The '666 patent does not provide for a stationary buttocks support, thereby preventing the isolation of the desired muscles for rehabilitation. Likewise, the '730 patent is ineffective because it is designed specifically for stretching the legs of a user in order to improve leg flexibility. The '730 patent is also manually operated with no means for limiting the range of motion of each repetition.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a means for passively exercising the muscle groups especially surrounding the lumbar spine for postoperative and other rehabilitative therapy.
Another object of this invention is to provide a means whereby the normal collagen formation may occur, thus minimizing scarring and allowing a faster return to normal function and development of strength in both the muscles of function as well as the secondary support system.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a means whereby the upper body and lower body are simultaneously exercised.
Another object of this invention is to provide a means whereby the range of motion is independently selected for the upper and lower body.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a drive means to power both the upper body and lower body exercise means.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a means whereby the patient may control the operation of the device.